Pre-Thanksgiving Tips
A week out from Thanksgiving and I’m feeling the pressure of lots to do and my ability to pull it all off without experiencing symptoms of a panic attack. Can you relate?
As I was thinking of some ideas, I figured perhaps some of you could benefit from them as well. Here goes. 
*If you are hosting dinner, or contributing your favorite dish to a gathering, this week is a good time to pull out your favorite recipes and put your grocery list together. Buying your groceries before Tuesday would also be ideal. It’s good to avoid the frustration of empty shelves, jammed aisles, and extremely long checkout lines whenever possible. I’ve messed this up on many occasions and I am certainly old enough to know better!
*In preparation for all the food that will be filling your refrigerator and pantry shelves, see if you can use what you currently have on hand to make dinners this week. Are there some meats or vegetables that can be made into soup? Do you still have a bag of frozen cranberries from last year? Take inventory. Google recipes to use whatever you find, be bold, and experiment. By doing this, you do a little clearing out and save money. Sweet!
*Even though you have a million things on your “To Do” list, remember to take care of you. Continue to get your sleep, drink your water, eat a salad, get some exercise, and 
spend some time at the end of your day relaxing in a way that suits you. Some days the energy just isn’t there, so honor the way you feel and remember the words of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
*When there is more to do than you can handle, ask for help. Family members may not volunteer to do dishes, vacuum or run an errand, however, most of them are willing to help when they know EXACTLY what to do. I used to take pride in doing it all myself, which led to exhaustion and crankiness. Those days are long gone and now I assign tasks for projects like Thanksgiving dinner. This leads to even more gratitude and a sunnier disposition on my part.
*As you do your grocery shopping, remember the many food drives that are accepting non-perishable goods. If you are able, add a few cans of vegetables or fruit to your cart to donate.
*Enjoy the process of getting to the Thanksgiving dinner finish line. Each year I am 
amazed at how quickly the actual meal is consumed, yet the preparations begin days, even weeks, earlier.
Full disclosure: we fry our turkey on Thanksgiving and it’s AMAZING!
Thanksgiving blessings to you and your family~
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — John Fitzgerald Kennedy
aged cheese is good. A bonus with hard cheeses is that there is little to no lactose in them, since most of it disappears when the whey is poured off. If you are using them to top a dish, shake a bit of paprika on top too for a bit more color; 2) Find rice or other gluten-free crackers that have only a few ingredients. The fewer, the better! Crush them into a fine meal-type consistency. At this point, you could add some type of fat like melted butter, coconut oil or olive oil to lightly dampen the crumbs. Add any seasonings you like and remember the paprika trick. Sprinkle on your casserole or whatever it is you are making. If the recipe calls for breadcrumbs IN the dish as a binder (like in meatloaf), I would choose the cracker crumbs, since the cheese may change the flavor too much; 3) Finely grated nuts could also be used to top a casserole. Again, keep in mind the flavor that you may add by choosing this option; 4) Gluten-free oatmeal finely ground in a food processor or grinder is a good binder. I have made my meatloaf with basic oatmeal, soaked in some water, for decades—no food processing needed.
reconstituted goat milk (my choice). I have used goat milk for years, the same amount as the evaporated milk. It’s delicious and no one can tell the difference.
could force it down. LOL. There are a variety of ways to make these if potatoes aren’t your thing, or if you have an allergy to them (nightshade family). This Thanksgiving, I’m going to stick with my usual REAL mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole, eat them slowly, and stop at 80% full.
will surprise you—they all involve lifestyle!
the desire to learn how to play something. JUST DO IT! This is great, especially when you do it with other people, like in an orchestra or band. Doesn’t playing (fill in the instrument of your choice here) with a bunch of your friends sound like fun? Who knows where that could lead!
break it down and cover it more in future blogs. For now, here’s the short story: the typical Western diet tends to increase inflammation. The Mediterranean way of eating is one good option. There are others, however, this is probably the most well-known. Basically, it consists of eating mostly plant-based food (beans and legumes, vegetables, fruits, whole grains); eating fish and poultry at least twice a week; eating primarily olive oil; limited red meats and sugars. None of this is a surprise.
scariest, most evil looking jack-o-lantern you could imagine. It glowed from our front porch on Halloween night.
